Ezra's Choice
by Notorious T
Summary: Lucky for us, Ezra chose to accept Kanan's offer to advance the plot line. But what made him make that decision?


+1 to the fanfiction archive.

_"So, what do you want?" Ezra demanded as he turned to face Kanan with a glare, with his stolen lightsaber clenched defiantly in hand. Inwardly he groaned at his recklessness. Of course Kanan would notice his Lightsaber was gone, all too obvious who took it. But Ezra wouldn't pass on the opportunity to take such an amazing sword for himself._

_"To offer you a choice," Kanan stated firmly in sincerity. "You can keep the lightsaber you stole, let it become another dusty souvenir. Or you can give it back and come with us. Come with me, and be trained in the ways of the force. You can learn what it truly means to be a Jedi."_

_"I thought the empire wiped out all the Jedi," Ezra whispered as he questioned the weapon in his hand. True, he suspected that Kanan wasn't a simple bounty hunter when they first met, like his attire suggested. And only a Jedi knew how to make a plasma blade..._

_"Not all of us," Kanan confirmed with a faint smile before disappearing out the door, leaving Ezra alone to chose his fate._

_..._

Ezra glanced warily at the door to his abandoned hideout, with Kanan's stolen lightsaber still in hand. Uncertainty gripped him as he though about Kanans offer, given to him mere moments ago before said jedi vanished.

His mind wandered to the distant thoughts of the past, his dreams. He once had bigger dreams in life, bigger dreams than being a street thief. He forgot them long ago, for what use did an orphan have for dreams? Dreams were a luxury for the rich to him, all he cared about was food and trinkets. He was an orphan in the empire, forever condemned to be a thief to survive.

At first dread filled him as he though about abandoning what he knew for a new life. But his emotions shifted to wonder as his long forgotten dreams surfaced. A chance to see the stars and other worlds, a chance to actually obtain his dreams and take them into his hands. Not only the, but images of himself holding his own lightsaber filled him, wondering what it would be like to be a jedi like Kanan.

Shouldn't that be his decision then? He wondered as he gazed around his hideout. His collection of stolen items lay around in various places, silently mocking him. It didn't matter how many possessions or trinkets he held, the simple fact about his life held true. Ezra Bridger was alone. With only himself to guide his hollow routine of life.  
>It wasn't his choice to be without parents, it wasn't his choice to steal to survive, and it certainly wasn't his choice to be alone.<p>

"But I might not have to be alone anymore," He pondered with consideration as the others came into his mind. They stood before him in his mind, a chance for acceptance or rejection.

Bitterness came to his mind as he thought of Zeb. The hefty Lasat was rough on him when they first meet, but his anger came from Zeb leaving him behind to the Imperials so that he and the others could flee.

"But I would have done the same if I was him," He admitted with a stab of guilt. Taking into consideration the he tried to convince Hera to abandon them to escape only a few minutes before that, did he really have a right to anger? And Zeb did come with the others to come back for him, so perhaps he could forgive him.

As for Hera and Sabine, they were intriguing to him in their own way. The no-nonsense daredevil Pilot and the bomb graffiti artist had his attention.  
>Kanan and Zeb treated him like a pest at first, however Hera and Sabine treated him as a person, not just a common thief. Granted, he did partially blame Hera for being held hostage by the Empire, since she convinced him to warn the others to escape only to get himself captured. But in the end it was his choice.<p>

"Maybe coming with them wouldn't be so bad," he reasoned. Growing up with no one to depend on taught him to be selfish, only looking out for number one. But seeing these rebels, actually looking out for others gave him a forgotten emotion that was almost forsaken to him. Hope.

But just by being around him made him destroyed his own argument: "Why would I risk my life for a bunch of strangers? People don't do that." They proved him wrong twice.

Ironically, being around them made him risk his life for others as well. For the wookie Prisoners on Kessal, to Kanan's crew itself. Not only that, but seeing them take care of the civilians forsaken by the Empire gave him pause. An almost forsaken emotion arose in his chest, something not felt since his parents departure. Hope. And maybe, just maybe he could get along with them.

"There's nothing for me here," he concluded with a grin as he dumped his backpack on the floor and began to pack his most prized possessions quickly.

Ezra Bridger's days of loneliness were over.

...

Kanan breathed out tension as the holocron recording of Obi-Wan finished. He didn't know if the old man was even still alive, or the number of jedi left besides himself, but Obi wan's message still burned within Kanan, even this day. His days of hiding from the Empire were over. No doubt the Empire would hound him more than ever with his secret out. At the back of his mind, a voice whispered that he put his crew in danger by revealing himself to the empire, and that they would die because of his foolishness, but he immediately crushed this thought. They were Rebels of the Empire, so they would be hounded either way.

The future may be uncertain, but he knew what he had to do.  
>And with the sight of Ezra standing in the doorway of his room, renewed hope burned within him once more as well. Although Ezra looked hesitant at the big step he was taking, determination won over as he walked to Kanan, lightsaber in hand.<br>"A Master, and a Padawan," Kanan though with pride. He carefully took the lightsaber back and ruffled Ezra's hair playfully. No more words needed to be spoken, for they both knew they made the right choice.


End file.
